Well I grew up in Birmingham, so let me take a stab at explaining it. Sunday, of course, is the main day, but pretty much every church around town also has Wednesday night services as well. In addition to the service, it is also usually choir practice night at churches and there are also usually some social events as well. While I'm sure a lot of people mock it, many people in the South are still quite religious and don't skip religious services for this type of thing. That's why the Sunday afternoon friendlies have been successful there and I think a Saturday night game would really work well.
Wish I had known you were out there before. I planned the best I could from 600 miles away in Orlando. I too was very proud of my hometown Birmingham on Wednesday. It doesn't matter where I live, I will always consider myself a Birminghamian first.
agreed, i think people would really be shocked at the turnout if they would give birmingham a saturday match. you are right on the money about the church thing, i know a lot of people who would have gone if it had not been on wednesday night, i also have to say that a lot of people in birmingham(especially young families with children), do not like to go to legion field, i wish birmingham had another stadium to hold these games at because legion field is falling apart. they recently condemned the upper deck and it is scheduled to be torn down within the next few months.
well i didn't even think about coming on here until last night when i was looking for articles about the game, i came in here and saw a long thread about the game and i joined. i guess i'm a late bloomer, i went with 5 of my friends and 3 of them don't know much about soccer but they were screaming and yelling just as much as me and had a blast. the local media did a great job before and have done a great job after the game. the team had great things to say about the field and the fans, they will be back very soon.
that picture at the top of this page is very deceiving, i was on the side where you see the picture of all the guat flags, that was when their team was coming back onto the field after halftime and every guat fan over there had a flag, if you count the flags then you will know exactly how many fans were over there, trust me even on this side the usa fans outnumbered them 2-1, this was also the side that stood for the whole game.
Actually, the picture was taken before the initial kickoff. (I'm the photographer). The US fans were still filing in in massive numbers. By 10 minutes into the game, that side was not "that blue" anymore.
I flew in that afternoon from Ft. Lauderdale. Got to my hotel in Hoover, ate at a Waffle House and took a quick nap. Got up threw on my US Jersey with GOLNOIR imprinted on the back and drove back downtown to do something that I wanted to do as much as see the game: visit the Birmingham Civil Rights museum across from the 16th Street Baptist Church that was bombed by racists, killing 4 little girls attending Sunday school. The museum was excellent as Birmingham was ground zero for the civil rights movement and I got to touch the jail door behind which Martin Luther King wrote his famed "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" So I was already full of emotion as made my way over the Legion Field. I stopped and chatted with a couple people, an older gentleman from Chattanooga and then made my way over to a couple of Sammers (one guy named Andrew as well) who were tailgating and listening to the Beatie Boys. I took my leave and went to get my seat. The closer I got to the stadium I was amazed at how many Chapins there were. I'm thinking, "We are DEEP in the Heart of Dixie and there are MAD Guatemalans here." After about a 25 minute wait in line, I got into the stadium and walked the long way around to my seat, standing on the support and waving my Stars and Stripes in front of sections of Guatemala fans who waved their flags and banners back. I got to my seat and saw that there were about 25 Guatemalan fans there already, so I took the closest one. They kept asking me, "You want to sit here?" I said, "Y'all are in my seat so, I'm standing right here." That must have been an interesting sight, one Black guy and like 50 Guatemalans by the time kick off started. About 20 mins before kickoff the excitement started to build as more US fans started making their way into the stadium, seemingly half nervous, half suprised at the amount of Chapins already in the stadium. The US fans were quite loud on goals, bad calls against the US, and in its applause for Lewis and LD. The crowd was probably 60-65% American during the game. Still feeling the emotion from the museum and the excitment of my first WCQ, I belted out the National Anthem as loud as I could, so much so that a couple of Chapins around me were like, "That was good." Two other Americans ended up in my section and we celebrated hard when EJ scored. I could sense the growing frustration around me as the US dominated play. Overall the Guatemalans were cool, giving me my props for displaying the same passion for my team as they did theirs even though their team was getting out played. I only got one negative comment, someone calling me a Black shyt in spanish that I actually didn't hear and wouldn't have known unless had another Guatemalan fan standing in front of me said something. I honestly could have kicked that kid's ass but I let it go and some other guy apologized. In the end, one of the fans took a picture of me holding my flag high as the game ended. I shook hands with the people around me and just stoad on the support in front of me, exchanging high 5s with other US Fans making their way out of the stadium, soaking in the emotion of the day, the flag of my country held high for everyone to see.
If we ever played a home game at Neyland stadium, it would be pro USA crowd that looked like they were all cheering for Holland. off topic: Can You Imagine Allen Iverson playing up front with GAM. Or Karl Malone or Kevin Garnet at keeper. Or Steve Nash (I know he's Canadian) Kobe Bryant at attacking Mid or Ben Wallace playing central defender. I'm sure there are better examples, I am not a huge NBA fan. Or Derek Jeter or Corey Dillon or Jeremy Shockey............whoever
That is pretty amazing hyperbole there. Where I was seated maybe 1 in 5 Guatemalans had a flag...and that is on the high end. Directly above me there were 3 rows of Guatemalans that were about 12 seats across with 1 flag. Directly to my right and my left every single person on my row was Guatemalan and nobody on my row had a flag. Below me and to the left there were 3 rows which each had an American family, but below me to the right there were 3 rows of nothing but solid Guatemalans and 1 American guy (who was never able to get to his seat no matter how long he talked to the mass of blue that was occupying it) and out of all those Guatemalans there were no flags, but they did have two posters and a guy in a blue and white striped hat. I was in a sea of Guatemalans with 1 flag and 1 poster. Although I'll repeat again that these Guatemalans cheered for Landon when he came off and cheered for Keller after the game was over. I think this fact is confusing some BS posters and making them think they were really US supporters who accidently bought Guatemalan jerseys, accidently came to the US from Guatemala, and accidently cheered for Guatemala. /shrug
The north end was really hard to call. It was all US at the bottom for sure and more total US fans than Guates there. The side that you feel is 65/35 could go that way from that picture, but from my seat I would say that there is a lot more blue than I saw in that picture for whatever reason. I have a picture of that same corner you do from another angle and there is a lot more blue in it. The rest of the stadium I never get more than about 6 rows in the picture because I wasn't photographing the fans. I'll still say in supporters the Guatemalans outnumbered the US by a lot even if the US had a large spectator contingent that gave more total US numbers (which I felt there was a slight edge overall to US people, just that a lot of them were not supporters). And of course the Guatemalans were cheering for the US as well making it a very odd game.
I just wanted to give a shout to Nico and the other B-hammers who gave out such helpful info leading up to this match. To Rishi, Ed, and the other guys directly in front of arguably the wobbliest of rows in the stadium, thanks for helping to lead the charge in our part of the section. Much respect to the young ladies who were down front. Good job to all the fellow USians who were loud and proud all night long. Well done!
It was a great experience for my wife and me. We arrived around 4:00 EST and totally by luck parked within eyesight of the other Silverback fans I knew would be here! We tail-gated and talked with US fans and Guatemalans. It was the first cap for us and probably a lot of other SE based fans, so if B'ham gets regular USMNT games you can bet people will start showing up in greater numbers. Regular exposure will create alot of inroads that can overcome the perceived problems in marketing high level soccer in the SE. Birmingham is a great area in terms of youth structure and collegiate soccer, I would love to have them back in the USL on some level. I think the fan issue is somewhat misperceived. No matter how many Guatemaltecos or Gringos attended, many people left Legion Field personally convinced that the USMNT is for real and have a lot more respect for the team than before (you think Guatemala's NT liked having their fans saying 'U-S-A'???). My wife being one example, she was totally amazed and spent plenty of my money on stuff to show her newfound support! She will now look forward to traveling to see a soccer game (whether Silverbacks, MLS or US), something that was not possible before Wednesday night. Spreading the Qualifying matches around was in that respect, an excellent move to grow support for future matches in other venues.
Lots of things I can comment on. * At the concessions, I saw kids buying US gear and their parents buying Guatemalan gear. * I saw a number of fans from teams in central and south america at the game that were there just to see a quality soccer game. They tended to cheer for Guatemala, for a number of reasons. (Underdog, latin, etc.) * I think the USSF could learn alot from the south. One of the reasons that I became a soccer fan is the experience is similar to an SEC football game. I love the passion the fans have for their team. The singing, etc. One thing that takes place around the south at football games, schools give "shakers" to the fans. These "shakers" are color coordinated and are normally placed in the seats or thrown into the stands by the cheerleaders. My kids have a couple hundred stashed away that they have obtained at Tennessee football games. I'd love to see Red/White/Blue shakers given out at MNT games. * Listening to talk radio before and after the game. And, based upon some customer service issues I experienced, I feel that the number of people that showed up for the game surprised the city a little bit.
My 12 year old son and I went to both the Mexico City and Birmingham matches. It was about 60-40 U.S. at Legion Field. Once the match got going the U.S. fans were really into it, and as far as I could tell, most everyone on our entire side (both U.S. and Guat fans) did not sit down the entire match. The field was in great shape, and I definitely would consider going to a match in Birmingham again (we're from Chicago). Those in attendance got a chance to watch exceptional football by the U.S. If the U.S. would have (or could have) been as aggressive in Mexico as they were in Birmingham, they would have a least tied in Mexico. I can't wait until Columbus. By the way, we were visiting with some Guatemalans at our hotel (very funny and good guys) and we asked them who they cheer for when the U.S. plays Mexico, and they said Guatemalans definitely prefer the U.S. over Mexico.
Hey, I'm the Lloyd from the Radisson lobby Bar! It was nice to chat with you. I enjoyed the game a lot and have more a more detailed account in the N & A postgame thread including some travel type observations. Thanks to Mctide for the great driving directions in the pregame Q&A thread....
just wanting to give my 2 cents on the people with negative comments about the match in birmingham, it was an awesome game and i was there and i think the crowd was easily 65-35 usa fans. yes maybe a lot of them were people who like soccer but don't follow the us team, but they sure did have fun and were very loud at times. i think us soccer gained a lot of fans at this game and will continue to grow in the south. i think the ussf could do a better job at getting information to all soccer clubs throughout the country about the us team, many parents don't even realize that there is a us team because they don't know anything about soccer except for what they've watched their kids play, other sports don't have national teams like soccer does. i would like to see the ussf make a connection between youth soccer and the usa national team, there are millions of soccer players out there. thats just my opinion on things, and for you guys who had doubts about the match in birmingham, i think that us southerners raised the bar a little, we showed you guys how to stand and cheer for your team, even if the crowd wasn't as soccer literate as some others around the country, we cheered for our team better than a lot of games i have watched.
Ok I think i have read the majority of the posts here. We had a great time at the game. Being that I was there supporting both teams I loved seeing all the chapines. It really surprised me to see so many supporters for Guatemala. It seemed to me that USA supporters really started coming in a little bit before the anthems. One thing I will say, after my many experiences watching games w/the hispanic crowds (mostly Guatemala); USA didn't shut them up after the first goal...they simply aren't as verbal during the game as the USA supporters were AND they were cheering USA at certain points. Being chapina I came in hoping for a draw...I knew USA would win as did many other chapines, so we weren't that disappointed. Mostly disappointed in Ruiz...but that's another story. I'll have to post pics when I have time. You can see the difference during the warmups and during the game on the supporters. I really liked how some of you got to see how cool the chapines were after the game. I hate to say this but where I was seated at there were some really racist USA fans. NOT COOL!!!! that was the only negative thing I encountered. I will be at the OH game....USA all the way this time. Can't wait to see them crush Mexico Had a great time overall
You really need to be able to understand the magnitude of this game to Guats living in the US. This is the first time I can remember Guatemala making the Hexs and ontop of that, they have a really good chance of qualifying. You see how many showed up in Alabama for the game from all over. We flew in with two from California....I know one from the ESC who drove down from NJ.... just imagine if the game was anywhere else in the US - there would have been alot more. The crowd was pro US. It may not have looked or sounded like it at times but it was. For the Alabamian who went to just support the US or as a casual fan of soccer, they didnt all bring American flags or make noise on every throw in or offensive chance. The Guats there did. Overall, Birmingham was a good choice. It was a fun city, they certainly did hype the game up on the radio and in the paper and there were alot of Americans at the game. It was a short flight for the US players from Mexico so it gave them ample time to rest up. I'd be hard pressed to think of a venue that would have been better for the team given all those above circumstances.
I agree that the US fans were louder than the Guatemalan fans. Of course we were winning. The atmosphere was pretty good. At times it sounded like a soccer match in England. The fans seemed irate that the Donovan goal was disallowed. I wish there was a band at the game though. American College Football games in the south are known for their marching bands and intense atmosphere. I'm probably wishing for too much...
You know, that's something I've thought about too. I know a lot of people disagree, but they're a fixture of our "big arena" sports and kind of an interesting idea to me. American soccer fans usually need to be led a bit (though they did fairly well Wednesday night) and that's something they're used to and would probably respond well to.
We always get our USSF announcements of games in the LA area about three days AFTERthe games in question. Here's hoping they don't mess up the tickets for Mexico at crew--we were at Azteca, and the ratio was 300 to 100,000. Would prefer the reverse being true at Crew.
I've thought for a while that a band would work at soccer games. Hey if you (or anyone else) are curious and have the time check out my very first three posts on Big Soccer. It discusses just that. If only I had more money...
I talked with a Guatemalan dude I work with today. He said when they went to the game his cousin was painting flags on their faces and her 6 year old little boy (born here) got mad and scrubbed it off. He told her he was American and wanted to USA to win. Dude said that the little boy cheered U-S-A and screamed like crazy when we scored. He said the boy's dad thought he was loco, but was proud of him for being a little man.